An assignment transfers one party's interest and obligations under a lease to another party. During these tenant transfers, the new tenant takes on the lease responsibilities, including paying rent and property maintenance of the leased premises, and the original tenant is released from most of their duties.
An assignment is a full transfer of the lease between the tenant and the assignee. Therefore, since the tenant no longer has any ownership interest in the property, there is no longer any relationship between the landlord and the tenant as far as the property ownership is concerned.
Commercial leases are typically fixed-term agreements, often lasting 12 months or more. A commercial rent agreement is usually a short-term arrangement, often renewing every 30 days, offering more flexibility but less long-term security.
To grow or react to market conditions your business may need to quickly leave its current premises. If your business rents the premises but there is still time left to run on the lease, what can you do? A common solution is to transfer your lease to someone else. This process is called 'assigning a lease'.
When contemplating whether a lease is retail or commercial, the difference should be quite obvious – a retail lease would include shops and stores, while a commercial lease would be an office. Yet, this distinction is not as apparent as you might think.
A commercial lease agreement is a contract for a business to rent an office space or other business property from a landlord. The term 'commercial' simply means that the lease is for business activities rather than housing.
This will be done using a Land Registry form known as a TR1. If the lease is for less than 7 years, then the lease can be assigned by using a deed of assignment. Both these documents have the same effect and will generally be executed by both you as the current tenant and the assignee.
As the name suggests, a retail lease applies to those spaces or premises intended exclusively for retail, i.e. selling goods or services. For example, the premises used for a clothing store is leased out on a retail lease.
“Commercial space” generally refers to office space. With commercial space, there may not be as many people wandering in and out, whereas “retail space” depends largely on foot traffic. Commercial space is typically used for businesses that don't have a lot of foot traffic.
Key Takeaway differences: A retail lease is used where there is a sale of goods or services, often in a shopping centre (cluster of 5 or more stores). A commercial lease is used for warehouse, industrial or office space premises.